Tahmidullah II of Banjar
| Tahmidulah II تحميد الله ٢ | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susuhunan Panembahan Ratu Prince Nata Mangkubhumi | |||||||||
The tomb of Tahmidullah II in Martapura, Banjar Regency. | |||||||||
| Sultan of Banjar | |||||||||
| Reign | 16 January 1761 – 19 April 1801 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Muhammad | ||||||||
| Successor | Sulaiman | ||||||||
| Mangkubhumi of Banjar | |||||||||
| Reign | 3 August 1759 – 16 January 1761 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Prince Nullah | ||||||||
| Successor | Ratu Anom Kasuma Yuda | ||||||||
| Born | Prince Wira Nata Dilaga 1727 Martapura, Sultanate of Banjar | ||||||||
| Died | 19 April 1801 (aged 73–74) see #Death | ||||||||
| Spouses | |||||||||
| Issue | List
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| House | House of Banjarmasin | ||||||||
| Father | Sultan Tamjidillah I | ||||||||
| Mother | Ratu Mas | ||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||
Tahmidullah II, (1727 – 19 April 1801) also known as Tamjidillah III, Sulaiman Saidullah I, and Sunan Nata Alam was the Sultan of Banjar who ruled from 1761 to 1801, succeeding his cousin, Muhammad of Banjar. His reign succeeded in maintaining the sovereignty and absolute influence of the sultan, which led to his recognition as one of the best Banjar Sultans.
At first, he was only appointed as Sultan while waiting for Sultan Muhammad's young sons to reach a suitable age. However, his ambition for the throne and the murder of Sultan Muhammad's sons caused him to be confronted with a rebellion from Prince Amir, Sultan Muhammad's third son who claimed the throne and intended to take revenge. Despite not receiving support from the people due to his cruelty, Prince Amir was supported by the alliance of the Bugis and Paser, which forced Tahmidullah II to ask for help from the Dutch East Indies to crush Prince Amir's rebellion.
After Prince Amir's rebellion was put down with a little help from the Dutch, the Dutch demanded that the Sultan make Banjar a protectorate of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). In return, the Sultan handed over a number of territories to the Dutch as a favor for their assistance during Prince Amir's rebellion, an act that was fundamentally unpopular with the Sultan himself. Tahmidullah II, a distinguished diplomat, made an agreement with the Dutch that the Banjar region would remain intact and the ruler of the sultanate would remain in his line. This ended the succession dispute between the descendants of Sultan Hamidullah and Tamjidillah I. However, due to his dislike of the Dutch, Tahmidullah II hired pirates and river bandits, and reduced pepper production to slowly disrupt VOC trade and eventually forced the VOC to abandon Banjar in 1797.
The success of Tahmidullah II's ambition to rule the throne, by ensuring that the ruler of the sultanate was in his line, and his success in expelling the Dutch who had dominated Banjar's economic policies for years, made him recognized as one of the best Sultans of Banjar. Even though he was not a sultan who led the golden age, Tahmidullah II's diplomatic achievements are believed to be one of the achievements that almost no other kingdoms in the Nusantara archipelago could achieve at that time.